SMART GILAS FINISHES 4TH

While the entire country was hoping for a championship for Smart-Gilas Pilipinas, the 4th place finish was a respectable one. At the 22nd FIBA-Asia Champions Cup 2011 held here at Philsports Multi-Purpose Arena, Pasig City, the RP team placed 4th after bowing two consecutive matches, a close semifinals against Mahram-Iran  and the battled for 3rd place against Al Rayyan of Qatar. While many pundits were so mad and keeps on saying that the team failed miserably, I have a different take on that.


In the country's 15 years of participation in the games, it is the second best showing behind the championship crown won way back 1996. That alone was a good effort already. And while I do think they missed their chances against the Iran squad in the semifinals losing by a close margin, I do believe the Smart-Gilas team is on the right track. It has shown that it can compete again on the highest levels in Asia. Let's just hope that the good things continue for our team moreso in the upcoming FIBA-Asia Championships in China this September.